Automobile lock



A. J. GRAY AND W. HEBERN.

AUTOMOBILE LOCK. APPLICATION FILED APR. I9. 192i).

Patented Apr.

F'EZ

/NVNTRS A l GRAY ATTJYS.

rlldii ALBERT I. ener AND WILLIAM Hessen, or oezrLanD, CALIFORNIA., AssIeNoas, BY

DIRECT AND ineens. eserciti/reims, se SECURITY euro Leni; co., A corr-inmunitsHIr consrsrnve or ALLE-ar J. einer, WILLI- ain Hannan. AND DAVID GUILD, In.

AUroMoBILn Locri.

mir-inea.

specification of Lettersratem. Patented API- 18, 1922,

Application led April 19, 1920 Serial No. 374,850.

T0 all w /tom 'it may conce/Mc:

Be it known that we, ALBERT J. GRAY and lWILLIAM HEBERN, citizens of thek United States, and residing in the city of Oakland, county of Alameda, and State of California, have invented new and useful mprovements in Automobile Locks, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a lock for automobiles rof a certain type having universally movable gear shift levers, and resides in the 'provision of a relatively simple, inexpensive, and reliable lock which maybe easily installed without necessitating` any change in the construction of the antoniobile, and, which, when locked, will prevent movement of the gear shift' lever out of neutral position, whereby the automobile is inoperative and safe-guarded against theft.

An object of theinvention is to provide a .lock of the character described, which is at all times in a position to be readily locked in neutral position, there being a spring for normally vholding the lock out of position whereby the lever may be freely operated, the lockingv being effected by moving the lock downwardly into a predetermined position and then turning the key. y

The invention possesses other advantages and features, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following description wherein rwe shall outline in full that form of the invention which we. have selected for-illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming apart of the present specification. In said drawings, we have shown one form of the construction of our invention, butit is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to such form, since the inventionas expressed in the claims may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an automobile, showing the lock of our invention as when locked.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, of the lever and its connection with the `casting in which it works, showing the lock in unlocked position in full lines, and in locked position in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the movable locking member.

` Figure a is a top plan view of the stationary locking member.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 4f.

Figure 6 is a fragn'ientary vertical sectional view illustrating the locking lugs and their co-.operating mechanism in detail. y

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section showing in detail the means for frictionally holding the locking member in rip-position on thc gear shift'lever.

Referring particularly to the drawings, 7 designates the gear shift lever of an automobile, said lever beingl of the'universal movement type and mounted in the. customary manner in a casting 8. i

Automobiles of the make with which our invention is to be used employ a screw threaded ring, not shown, which ring is mounted in the casing 8 to retain the lever 7 in place. To adapt automobiles of this type for use of our invention, we remove the ring and substitute therefor a ring 9 which is externally screw threaded, as at 10, and turned into the screw threaded opening 11, in the casting 8. This ring 9 retains the lever 7 in place and is also constructed to provide for locking of the lever. In this connection, it is to be noted that the ring 9 is provided with a laterally extending annular yflange V1Q upon its upper end, which flange engages upon the top of the casting 8 and upon its outer end is curved down-l wardly, as at 18, so as to conform to, and closely engage said casting. Fixed upon the flange 12 at opposite points are upwardly eX- tending locking lugs 14, each of which are undercut by being laterally grooved as at 15, so as to provide the locking shoulder 16. This ring 9 with its component parts constitutes the stationary locking member of the invention.

The movable locking member comprises a plate 17 preferably of circular form, provided with a central aperture 18 for reception of the lever 7. The plate 17 is mounted upon the lever by removing theV ball handle portion -19 fromthe upper end of the lever 7 and inserting the lever through said opening 18, said plate slipping downwardly upon sai'd'lever so as to co-operate with the stationary locking member.

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'lhe plate l? is provided on opposite sides with horizontal 'openings 20 extending from the outer edges thereof to the aperture lg. Slidably mounted in each opening is a pin 2l., one end of which is adapted toengage the lever 7. The other ends of these pins are enlarged and the outer endsof the enlarged portions are engaged by expansion springs mounted in the openings and heldin place by screw plugs 22. These springs tend to force the pins into yielding` engagement withthe lever?l and as the lever 7 Vincreases indiameter gradually towards its lower end, the frictional engagement by the pins will be sullicient to hold the movable locking member normally in up and out-of-the-way position. However, the locking member may be readily moved downwardly by applying pressure to the upper side thereof, said pressure tending to' force the pins inwardly against' the action of the springs so as to allow said member to be pushed downwardly.

The vplate 17 carries a suitable lock 23,

yan vojllierating member 24 of which is movable in an areand extends into an arcuate slot 25 formed in an arcuate locking bolt 26. This'bolt 26 is slidably mounted within a recess 27 Vformed in the upper side of the plateli' and at its free ends is provided with lugs 28v adapted to extend into the grooves l5 under the shoulder 16 of the lugs lliso as to lock the movable locking member upon the stationary locking member. v The bolt 26 is provided with slots 2S through which extend screws 28, said. screws entering the plate li' and serving to hold vthev arcuate' bolt 26 'slidable in place on said plate.V

suitable key 29 may be provided for actuation of the lock and, by inserting the lrey in the lock and moving it in the properdirection, the arcuate bolt 26 may be moved back and forth laterally into and out of position as desired.

lt will thus be seen that the lock is normally disposed so as not to interfere with the operation of holding the movable. locking member in out-of-the-way position. llo lock said gear shift lever against operation out `of its neutral position, the plate l? is moved downwardly and 'thef lugs la will extend into recesses 30 formed in the under side of the plate 17, said plate resting upon the ring 5) and closely surrounding it. The recess for the sliding bolt opens at its ends into the recesses 80 so that'the lugs 2S will Vextend into said recesses and engage under the shoulders 1G on the lugs lli. rlhis operation of the locking elements may be effected after the movable locking member has been so moved into the position againraat the action of the spring pressed openby use of the key 29 as hereinbefore explained.

7W ith reference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, it'will be observed that we have provided exceptionally simple and lnghlyeiiicacious loclring means, which when locked, will reliably' hold the gear shift 'lever against operation and which in itself is not subject to derangement by being tampered with. One of the most essential features of the vinvention is the provision of a lock which can be readily incorporated in the automobile for use thereon without necessitating any change in the construction of the automobile, and which is at all times readily accessible from the drivers seat and in position to be quickly locked.

TWe claim:

1. The combination with the gear shift lever of an vautomobileand a member on the automobile to which said lever is attached, of locking lugs carried by said mem-V 2. The combination with the gear shift lever of an automobile and a member on the automobile to which said lever is attached, of locking lugs carried by said member and having recesses therein, a movable locking member vertically movably mounted upon the gear shift lever and having recesses therein adaptedto receive saidlocking lugs, means for holding said locking member 'out of contactnwith said lugs, and means for locking said locking member in contact with said lugs comprising a locking device having ,a bolt movable into and out of saidV recesses in theY lugs, said bolt being arcuate and having the ends thereof disposed for entering said recesses in the lugs.

3. ln combination. with the gear shift4 connection otherwiserwith said-lever, and A having recesses to receive said lugs, means fornormally holding said member. out lof contact with the lugs, and means for locking said memberin contact with said'lugs.

4. The combination with a gear "shift le-V ver of anA automobile, a member'in which Seid lever is mounted, said member having a screw threaded opening therein surrounding Said leverj of a looking member provided With a screw threaded portion screwed into said opening7 zt looking member vertically adjustably mounted upon said member7 means for normally holding said movable looking member out of looking position and means for locking said members to one another to prevent movement of said lever which means is free from connection with said lever.

ALBERT J. GRAY. WILLIAM HEBERN. 

